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"He was brought to Tampa Bay to compete and win the battle as the No. 1 guy," said NBC analyst Darren Pang, a former goaltender and longtime friend of Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman. "Along with Mathieu Garon, the Lightning now have a very solid tandem."

The Lightning gave up the 37th and 50th picks in this year's draft, plus a third-rounder next season, and minor league goalie Seabstien Caron, to land Swedish-born Lindback. The Predators are also giving up center Kyle Wilson and a seventh-round pick. Wilson played five games for the Predators last season.

"It's a good-news, bad-news situation for us," Predators general manager David Poile said. "The good news is that we have Pekka Rinne signed for seven years. The bad news is that it makes it uncomfortable for your young goalies trying to get the opportunity to play."

Meanwhile, Poile said he continues to hope that the Predators can re-sign defenseman Ryan Suter, even though Poile conceded that Suter probably will explore his options after July 1. The Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild are teams that appear to covet Suter and have the resources to sign him, but there will be other suitors.

"I'm not negative about our chances," Poile said. "I still believe we are a good fit for what Ryan wants in a team. I will continue to be optimistic that he will re-sign."

Poile said he believes Lindback has the ability to be a No. 1 goalie.

"(Lindback) has many assets, covers plenty of net," Pang said. "He is very competitive, never giving up on a play. And he has been developed by Mitch Korn, one of the best goalie coaches in the NHL."

Lindback said it was is his dream to be a starting goalie.

"It's going to be great playing on such an offensive team." Lindback said. "Obviously, having Steven Stamkos, Vinny (Lecavalier) and Marty (St. Louis) on your team is exciting for anyone. It's the kind of team I want to be a part of."

Yzerman said the Lightning had prioritized finding goaltending help in the offseason and decided that Lindback fit the profile of the kind of the goalie they needed.

"He's relatively inexperienced, but we think he has tremendous potential," Yzerman said. "We gave up a significant amount to get him, but there weren't a lot of options, so we paid a hefty price, but we thought the return was worth it. We feel he's ready, and in talking to him, he is excited about the opportunity to take on more."

Lindback, 24, has been Pekka Rinne's backup, and has played 38 games over the past two seasons and owns a .914 career save percentage. Garon had Tampa Bay's top save percentage last season (.901).

The return on Lindback was important to the Predators because they are considered one of the league's best drafting teams.

Nashville had no first- or second-round pick before making the deal. The Predators gave up their first-round pick in the Paul Gaustad trade before the deadline and their second-rounder in the Hal Gill acquisition.

"We are always bullish at the draft," Poile said. "We have to keep our cupboards full."

Shea Weber, Kevin Kline and Roman Josi are examples of players whom Nashville has picked up in the second round.

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